The author of Psalm 49 is seeing the power of money used against him, through bribes and manipulation. It's a riddle to him, but he comes to the conclusion that as powerful as money is here on this earth, it cannot cross the line into eternity. Death is the great equalizer where we all stand (rich or poor, master or slave, influential or unknown) before God on level ground, and Yahweh himself is the only one who has the power to redeem us from death.
David observes that it is the fool who lives as if there is no God, and yet he also observes that 100% of us live that way. Yet, there is a group of people God calls "his own," a group he calls "righteous." So the question becomes, who are those people, why has God chosen them, and how do you move from "all have sinned" to "and are justified freely"?
According to a survey compiled by Pew Research Center just 3 months ago, only 50% of Americans say they are extremely or very satisfied with their jobs. And what I want to look at this morning, is how the good news of Jesus tells us to think about work, and how the good news of Jesus is the only motivation we need to get out of bed in the morning and hit the grindstone again – even if your job feels uninspiring.
As the cross looms large in Jesus' story, he sits down to a much anticipated dinner with his disciples – the Passover meal – a story full of rich history and remembering, a meal full of significance and joy, a meal full of promise and hope – a meal he leaves unfinished.
Resurrection Sunday, 2023 – Every one of us has a dominant story that shapes the way we view the world, ourselves, and God. For some it's a story of pain, loss, rejection. For others it's a story of hard work, effort put in, and reward or accomplishment. But all of those stories are but smaller stories inside the Greatest Story...the Story of God as spoken in the Bible.
Ray Ortland is quoted as having said, “There is a hell before Hell; a heaven before Heaven.” Proverbs warns against death multiple times, but rarely does it point to the actual event. So this discussion of life and death is bigger than simply, “Do you have a pulse or not?”
What does God think about sex? If two adults consent to a hookup, and no one is hurt, what’s the big deal? The dad speaking with his son in Proverbs 5-7 pleads for him to pursue the path of wisdom in the area of sexuality.
To close out the Story of God, pastor Rodney gives viewers a test to see how well you can explain the story of God, and is joined by one River City regular attender to take a look at how his story belongs in the Story of God.